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Gridlock'd
| writer = Vondie Curtis-Hall | starring = | music = Stewart Copeland | cinematography = Bill Pope | editing = Christopher Koefoed | studio = | distributor = Gramercy Pictures | released = | runtime = 91 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $5 million | gross = $5.6 million }} Gridlock'd is a 1997 American crime black comedy-drama film written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall and starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Lucy Liu, and Thandie Newton. It was the directorial debut of Curtis-Hall, who also has a small role in the film. The film's opening was relatively low, despite critical acclaim; its opening weekend netted only $2,678,372 and it finished with a little over $5.5 million. The film paid tribute to star Tupac Shakur, who was murdered four months prior to the film's release. Plot Set in Detroit, Gridlock'd centers around heroin addicts Spoon (Tupac Shakur), Stretch (Tim Roth) and Cookie (Thandie Newton). They are in a band – in the spoken word genre – called Eight Mile Road, with Cookie on vocals, Spoon on bass guitar (plus secondary vocals) and Stretch on piano. Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their habit after Cookie overdoses on her first hit. Throughout a disastrous day, the two addicts dodge police and local criminals while struggling with an apathetic government bureaucracy that thwarts their entrance to a rehabilitation program. Background : }} Production : }} Cast * Tupac Shakur as Ezekiel "Spoon" Whitmore * Tim Roth as Alexander "Stretch" Rawland * Lucy Liu as Cee-Cee * Thandie Newton as Barbara "Cookie" Cook * Charles Fleischer as Mr. Woodson * Bokeem Woodbine as Mud * Howard Hesseman as Blind man * John Sayles as Cop #1 * Eric Payne as Cop #2 * Tom Towles as D-Reper's Henchman * Tom Wright as Koolaid * Billie Neal as Medicaid woman #1 * James Pickens, Jr. as Supervisor * Debra Wilson as Medicaid woman #2 * Rusty Schwimmer as Medicaid nurse * Richmond Arquette as Resident doctor * Elizabeth Peña as Admissions person * Kasi Lemmons as Madonna * Vondie Curtis-Hall as D-Reper Soundtrack Reception Critical The New York Times editor Janet Maslin praised Shakur's performance: "He played this part with an appealing mix of presence, confidence and humor". Desson Howe, for the Washington Post, wrote, "Shakur and Roth, who seem born for these roles, are allowed to take charge – and have fun doing it". USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and felt that Hall had not "latched onto a particularly original notion of city blight. But he knows how to mine the humor in such desperation". Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "Gridlock'd doesn't have the imaginative vision of a movie like Trainspotting, yet it's more literally true to the haphazard torpor of the junkie life than anything we've seen on screen since Drugstore Cowboy... Curtis-Hall has caught the bottom-feeder enervation of heroin addiction." Box office Gridlock'd debuted at #9 at the US box office with $2,678,372. See also * Gridlock'd (soundtrack) References External links * * * * Category:1997 films Category:1990s buddy films Category:1990s comedy-drama films Category:1990s crime drama films Category:1990s criminal comedy films Category:1990s independent films Category:American black comedy films Category:American buddy films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:American crime drama films Category:American criminal comedy films Category:American independent films Category:American films Category:Directorial debut films Category:English-language films Category:Film scores by Stewart Copeland Category:Films about drugs Category:Films about heroin addiction Category:Films directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall Category:Films set in Detroit Category:Films shot in Los Angeles Category:Gramercy Pictures films Category:Hood films Category:Interscope Communications films Category:PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films Category:Universal Pictures films